Our ordinary suburban family life changed dramatically when Gom and Aunt Kitty came to visit. My mother, busy with her brood of four, and little household help, should have been nominated for sainthood. She insisted that the butcher at the A&P give her the very best piece of beef. She polished silver, ironed the linen… Continue Reading
Are You Listening…Really Listening?
by Sidney S. Stark Learning to listen instead of talking was a skill my grandmother tried to teach me very early. It was not a lesson I learned easily or well at that time. Some would say I still haven’t mastered it. But years of sales ‘how-to’ seminars on the subject and more years of… Continue Reading
He Who Hesitates…
by Sidney S. Stark “You have to be willing to risk everything, protect nothing, and then you’ll lose nothing in the end.” Is this advice from a professional gambler or perhaps a world-class downhill ski racer? It’s not hard to find many other possible authors of the seemingly outrageous counsel but a lot harder to… Continue Reading
How Useful is Common Sense?
By Sidney S. Stark A writer friend of mine was lamenting the fact that “today we make decisions based on statistical analysis rather than experience, or what used to be called common sense.” There would certainly seem to be plenty of proof backing that up. I’m not sure if it’s the shortening of our attention… Continue Reading
Patterns
by Sidney S. Stark Last week a young musician sent me a link to an article she’d saved from the New York Times. The article my friend sent can be read here in its entirety if you’re interested. It’s called The Young and the Perceptive, and was written by Joseph T. Hallinan for the Op… Continue Reading
What is Character?
by Sidney S. Stark ‘She doesn’t have any character,’ ‘Lord, what a character!’ or ‘It was really out of character’, all describe different traits within the parameters of personality, temperament and moral fiber. So clearly character can mean many different things to different people in various settings. But what does it mean to an author… Continue Reading